ISLAMABAD - In a bid to reopen social media website YouTube in Pakistan, the incumbent government has devised a mechanism to filter or permanently remove the objectionable material from the tube and to some extent from the internet too, sources said on Wednesday.
Following the advice of Ministry of Information Technology and Telecom, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has devised a mechanism to permanently block, remove or to filter the intolerable material from the YouTube, Internet, computer and even from cell phones. And, a decision to this effect would be taken by the Inter-provincial Committee, which is likely to be summoned during the next week, the sources said, adding that filtration would took place with the help of the filters of Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL).
Sources quoting mechanism of filtration of the unbearable material said that PTA would be responsible to filter the unpleasant material from the Internet in future. Under the filtration process around 4000 URLs would be removed with the filters of PTCL. In 2012, a desperate government to quell simmering protests appeared after the release of anti-Islam amateur film, “Innocence of Muslims”, had blocked YouTube in Pakistan.
The then Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf issued directives to the information technology ministry to immediately block YouTube across Pakistan.  In addition, former Interior Minister Rehman Malik weighed in with another threat to Google Inc, the company that owns YouTube: remove the anti-Islam material, or visas of Google officials would be cancelled. He also said he will approach Interpol for the arrest of those involved in the film.
Besides, the Supreme Court had earlier directed the PTA to block 934 links to the movie on YouTube and the Internet. It also ordered the PTA to prevent similar material from being displayed on such websites in the future.